Australian companies do not fear competition from emerging markets

The majority of Australian companies are not concerned by the threat of global competition, according to the latest Robert Half Finance and Accounting Financial Directions Survey.

The survey showed that Australian companies are not taking steps to be more competitive with emerging nations such as China and India1. More than half of Australian companies surveyed are not addressing potential issues at present, unlike our neighbours in New Zealand, who are actively preparing for this inevitable competition.

According to the survey, only a quarter of Australian companies are taking the threat seriously.

Possible reasons for our confidence include Australiaís emergence as a true global player that ëpunches above its weight on the international stageí. This connection is perhaps reiterated by the fact that other global players are not concerned about the impact of emerging markets either. 66% of companies in The Netherlands and 64% of those in the USA admit that they are not yet active in this area.

Only 16% of Australian companies believe that they will have to work smarter as a result of increased competition from emerging markets, compared with 36% in New Zealand and 27% in Germany. Australia is in line with the global average, which is at 18%.

The dependency of Asiaís infrastructure growth on Australiaís resources is another important factor to consider, and may be making Australian businesses less worried than those in other countries, who are not directly contributing to the success of these new powers.

Countries who are obviously concerned about these threats include the Czech Republic, where 58% of companies are actively making their processes more efficient in preparation for the changes ahead. This is possibly due to their lack of influence compared to other countries in their region, and a resultant need to ensure existing industries remain there.

Nigel Barcham, Managing Director, Robert Half International ANZ said: ìThe face of the global marketplace is changing dramatically, and Australian companies are in a good position to maintain and even strengthen their global position. The big concern for us will not be the export of industry, but of knowledge and talent to these emerging markets.íí

ìAs the need for accounting professionals in emerging markets increases, so does the likelihood of Australian professionals moving to fulfil that need, and a subsequent shortage of finance experts in this country, increases,íí Barcham continued.

This sort of change could be similar to the potential impact of current changes in Japan. There, the need for J-Sox experts to meet compliance requirements in time for the 2008 deadline, is already predicted to result in an exodus of accounting professionals from Australian companies.

Globally, the exact impact of emerging markets is yet to be made clear, but it seems that Australian companies should be making provision for the impact their growth could have on our workforce, if nothing else.